Fig. 4
Lithium chloride acutely reduces cocaine seeking on extinction day 1, but does not result in a long-term therapeutic effect on cue-induced reinstatement. This experiment examined whether the therapeutic reductions in cocaine seeking observed after U50-extinction treatment could be mimicked by another aversive compound, lithium chloride (LiCl). Thus, the experimental design matched that of Experiment 1, except instead of U50, rats (n = 7) were injected with LiCl (127 mg/kg) or saline (n = 8) 30 min prior to the first extinction session. Similar to U50, LiCl reduced cocaine seeking on extinction day 1 relative to saline (SAL) controls, but had no long-lasting effects on subsequent extinction or cue-induced reinstatement. (**p < 0.01 active lever, compared to SAL)
